With a Twist
by ReySolo
Summary: Typical, cliché A-Team... with a twist.


Disclaimer: I don't own the A-Team, if I did season 5 would have been way better. :) I do this for fun, please don't sue.  
  
Summary: Typical, cliché A-Team… with a twist.  
  
  
  
  
With a Twist  
by ReySolo  
  
  
Gary Ellison looked around the park, then turned to his daughter. "I don't think he's going to show up, Donna."  
  
Donna sighed. "But Mr. Li said someone would meet us here. I was sure we'd be able to find the A-Team..."  
  
"The only person here is that hotdog vendor..." He pointed to an old man with gray hair and a beard sitting behind a hotdog stand, staring at the ground. "They're not going to show," Gary said.  
  
"Let's at least ask that guy if he's seen anyone," Donna suggested. Her father waited by the picnic tables as she walked over to the man. "Excuse me, we were supposed to meet someone here..."  
  
The hotdog vendor didn't even look up as he replied, "Nobody else been 'round here today. Nobody wants to buy a hot dog."  
  
"But I was sure..."  
  
"Nope. Just me. Would you like to buy a hot dog?" He looked up, and Donna was startled by his bright blue eyes.  
  
"Um, no, sorry." She turned away.  
  
He called after her, "You sure? They're very good hotdogs. Mr. Li loves them."  
  
She paused. Turning back around, she asked, "Mr. Li? From the Chinese laundry?"  
  
"Yup." He opened the lid in the hotdog stand, pulled out a napkin, and handed it to her.  
  
Confused, she took it, then noticed writing on it. It read, YOU HAVE JUST FOUND THE A-TEAM.  
  
Donna looked up, startled, as the man pulled off the beard and wig to reveal a handsome face and golden blonde hair. He grinned at her astonishment and put out his hand. "Templeton Peck, at your service."  
  
  
  
  
"We own a general store in a small town, Jonesville," Gary explained to the team after they had all assembled. "William Granger, who owns the only other store in town, has been trying to get us to sell our business to him. I don't know why he wants it so much; he sells more than us anyway. It's not like we're competition for them. He's offering a lot, but this is our living, our family tradition, we can't sell. But he won't take no for an answer."  
  
"They've been irritating our customers for weeks now," Donna told them. "Granger and his goons know that if they can get rid of all of our business, we'll be forced to sell."  
  
Gary spoke. "Luckily, our customers like us enough that only a few have stopped shopping at our store, but it's getting worse and worse each day. The cops won't do anything about it because the chief of police is Granger's brother."  
  
"So we realized we had to find the A-Team," Donna finished.  
  
Murdock smiled apologetically at her. "Well, as much as I'd love to help a lady in distress free of charge, you realize that we do have a standard fee of $10,000 for our services."  
  
"Yes, I know," she replied. "We're prepared to pay what it takes to stop them from doing this. We can pay you once we get to Jonesville."  
  
"And so, this valiant group of crime-fighting commandos will once again come to the aid of innocent civilians in fear for their very existence!" BA proclaimed. With a flourish, he took a long black sock with holes in it and tied it around his head, with the holes arranged so he could see. Had the mask been made from fabric other than a sock, he might have resembled Zorro. "And with The Ba-man and his trusty sidekicks, evil will be vanquished!"  
  
Hannibal glared at him. "Shut up, fool! There ain't no superhero 'Ba-man,' and we ain't your sidekicks!"  
  
"Well," Face interrupted the two, "Looks like you've just hired the A-Team." He grinned.  
  
  
  
  
"All right, Murdock, you scam us a plane," Face commanded.  
  
"Right," the captain said.  
  
"No plane. Especially not if *he's* flying." Hannibal gestured to BA. "You know I hate planes, Face."  
  
"Okay, Hannibal." Face nodded at Murdock, who was standing behind Hannibal with a syringe. He injected the colonel's neck.  
  
"What the--?" the colonel collapsed into BA's arms.  
  
Donna looked shocked, then said, "Wait--Why do you need a plane? We only live two hours away by car."  
  
Face, Murdock, and BA looked at each other. "Oops."  
  
  
  
  
When they got to the Ellisons' store, they found three men breaking the windows on the front door.  
  
"Hey, that's our store!" Donna cried. "It's Granger and two of his goons!"  
  
The team jumped out of the van, BA shouting, "Stop your heinous deeds, evil villains!"  
  
The men turned, and the lead man, apparently Granger, asked, "Who's gonna make us?"  
  
"Why, Ba-man, and loyal sidekicks, of course!" BA replied. In the van he had donned a cape as well as the mask, and it was swept back by the wind as he stepped forward boldly.  
  
The Granger swung a punch at him, but BA ducked, and the punch hit Hannibal instead. Hannibal didn't react to the punch, except to deliver his own blow, which left the man gasping for air. The colonel then grabbed the man and hauled him into the street. BA and Murdock jointly took out a second man, while Face dispatched of the last one. Hannibal threw those two out in the street as well. As the three men slowly stood up, holding various injured body parts, Face called after them, "Now, Granger, the Ellisons aren't selling, no matter what illegal measures you take, so you may as well give up now!"  
  
Donna grinned at the sight of them limping away, but after a moment her smile faded. "They'll be back. Granger really wants our store; he's not going to give up that easily."  
  
"Why does he want this little store so badly, anyway?" Murdock asked. He grinned at Donna. "No offense, ma'am, it's a lovely place, but if it's not competition...?"  
  
"That's what we're going to have to find out," Face replied. "I've got a plan."  
  
  
  
  
"What do you mean, you haven't heard of the flesh-eating termite?" Murdock demanded, looking appalled at the young cashier before him. He was inside Granger's store, and he really hoped that none of the men they'd encountered before came in and recognized him. The oxygen mask on his face and canisters on his back should help-at least, that's what Face had assured him.  
  
"I just--it's--we don't--" the man behind the counter was looking very nervous.  
  
"They came over from Europe with a bunch of vegetation that should have been quarantined, but somebody screwed up and now they've got us out spraying everywhere for 'em," Murdock complained. "I was hoping they hadn't gone this far west, but somebody spotted them up the street, so now we gotta spray half the town. Now, come on, are you gonna leave so I can do my job, or am I gonna have to call my superior and tell them to quarantine the whole town?"  
  
It was obvious that any protests the young man had flew out of his mind when he saw the glare Murdock was giving him. "I'll--I can come back in half an hour?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, once the effect of the spray wears off. To humans, mind you. The dang termites ain't gonna stand a chance." Murdock grinned.  
  
The pale cashier nodded and practically ran from the store.  
  
Quickly, Murdock sprayed a tiny amount of water over the floor, then headed into the back office area. There he placed the small listening device Hannibal had made, and began searching through the filing cabinets for any clues. He found what he needed in a few minutes, then headed back out.  
  
Just as he left the building, he saw Granger apparently chewing out the young cashier not far from the store. The man had not turned in his direction yet, but he didn't want to take any chances. He raced to the side of the building, out of sight, then made his way back through the back lots toward the Ellisons.  
  
  
  
  
"Hey, Murdock. What'd you find out?" Face asked the captain when he arrived.  
  
"Well, for one thing, Granger almost saw me," Murdock complained. "I could have been--"  
  
"So what'd you find out?" Face asked again.  
  
Murdock glared at him, then told them what he had discovered. "Apparently some rich guy came through the town a few months ago, and he decided that he wants to build a casino here. The problem is, he wants it where the Ellisons' store is. For the view or something."  
  
"Wait, I think I know that guy!" Donna put in. "Wellington or something--"  
  
"Wilmington," Murdock supplied.  
  
She nodded. "Yeah, Wilmington. He asked if we'd ever consider selling, but I let him know that it doesn't matter how much someone offers, we're keeping this place. He seemed a little annoyed, but left town the next day, so I figured he had just given up."  
  
"Well," Murdock continued, "He didn't. Looks like he talked to Granger, and the two worked out a deal so Granger gets you guys to leave, he gets the ton of money Wilmington planned to offer you, and the casino gets put in. What I don't get is why anyone would want to build a casino in a small town like this..."  
  
Gary explained, "A bunch of people in the town have decided that they want to open up the town to tourism. Less than half the town supports it, so nothing's been done yet, but Wilmington must have picked up on those feelings, and a casino would definitely start the trend toward more tourism through here."  
  
"We like this little town the way it is," Donna stated. "Well, except for Granger. But if they force us to sell, we won't have any reason to stay in town, anyway."  
  
"Well, we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen," Murdock assured her, putting his arm around her shoulders. She looked nervously at her father, but when he didn't seem to notice the man draped over his daughter, she leaned into his embrace.  
  
"Ba-man will keep this village safe and happy for all citizens! Won't he, Billy?" BA pulled a dog treat out of his pocket and held it up as if there were a dog beside him begging.  
  
"Fool, there ain't no dog!" Hannibal shouted from the corner. He had put headphones on and was listening to the signal being transmitted from Granger's back room. "And you ain't no superhe--" He interrupted himself, devoting his attention to the headphones. After a moment, he exclaimed, "Faceman! They found out that someone went through their files, and now they're planning to come over here and kill the Ellisons' in one hour!"  
  
"Well, we'll just have to be ready for them, won't we?" Face said, with a wide smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"Oh, boy..." Murdock didn't look thrilled.  
  
Hannibal explained to Donna and her father, "He's on the Jazz."   
  
  
  
  
Using an old pickup truck Murdock managed to scam, some supplies the Ellisons had in the back room, and a roll of duct tape, the team managed to weld together a machine that would shoot a high-velocity spray of ketchup.   
  
  
  
  
When Granger and his men showed up, they found Gary and Donna alone fixing up the damage from earlier. "Well, well, well," Granger said calculatingly. "Guess those guys who helped you out earlier weren't willing to stay around and clean up the mess. So who did you hire to break into my store?"  
  
"Break in? I don't know what you're talking about," Gary replied.  
  
"Don't LIE to me!" Granger shouted, causing Donna to jump. When he next spoke he was perfectly calm. "Now, this is your last chance. Will you sell to us?"  
  
Gary looked at the man defiantly. "No."  
  
Granger nodded. "Very well." He made a motion with his head, and the two men behind him grabbed Donna. She struggled and shouted, but they held firm. Gary stepped forward, but stopped when Granger took out a revolver and pointed it at his daughter's head.  
  
A woman walking down the street saw the struggle and shouted, "Hey, what are you--?"  
  
Granger turned the gun to point at it at her. "You gonna go tell the cops? My brother? Hah! He'd help me bury their bodies-and yours."  
  
The woman, looking terrified, nodded, then walked quickly away.  
  
Granger turned the gun back to Donna and looked at Gary. "Now, Ellis, will you sell, or watch your only daughter die before your eyes?" He smiled evilly.  
  
"CUT!" Face shouted from behind the side of the building. "Okay, I think we've got enough evidence for a conviction, now, don't you, Murdock?"  
  
Murdock popped out from behind a bush, holding a video camera. "Yeah, I think that's enough. And along the Ellison's testimonies, and the papers that are proof of Wilmington's involvement, I'm sure that the men here as well as Wilmington will be enjoying a nice long prison term…" he replied, grinning.  
  
"What??" Granger shouted, enraged. "Hand that camera over now, or the girl gets it!" He dug the gun deeper into her temple.  
  
"Yeeaaaaah!!" BA shouted as he jumped from the roof of the store onto Granger, disarming him. "Ba-man will stop you evil wrongdoers!" He grabbed the gun and knocked Granger out cold. Face and Hannibal took out the other two men, who had been so startled by BA's appearance that they had released Donna immediately.  
  
Murdock put down the camera and brought over some rope, and Donna raced into his arms. He held her comfortingly as Face and Hannibal tied up Granger and his men.  
  
"I love it when a plan comes together," Face announced.  
  
Gary looked at his daughter, satisfied that she was safe, then realized something. "Where was the huge ketchup sprayer involved in this plan?"  
  
Face blinked. "Um…" Unable to come up with an adequate reply, he changed the subject. "Well, we should probably call the cops from a nearby town, get them to pick up these guys and the evidence. Maybe they'll be able to get Granger's brother out of office, too."  
  
"But you can't be here when the cops show up; are you going to leave these guys here with us?" Donna asked.  
  
Murdock nodded. "We'll have to get out of here, but if you want help, we can get our friend Amy Allen to come watch them with you. I think she's working on a story only about twenty minutes away from here, so she should be able to come help."  
  
Gary nodded. "That would be great. Thank you all so much for your help."  
  
"Rescuing good citizens from evil, foiling villains' plans; all in a day's work for Ba-man!" BA announced. At Hannibal's scowl, he added, "And his sidekicks, of course!" Hannibal's scowl did not lessen.  
  
"I'll go call Amy and the cops," Face suggested. "Ba-man, you keep those miscreants in their place."  
  
BA stepped forward proudly, his cape blowing majestically in the wind.  
  
  
  
  
Amy saw the guys outside the small general store and pulled over to the side of the road. Getting out of the car, she took in the scene before her.  
  
Three unconscious men lay bound together on the ground. Face stood nearby holding a revolver, while smoking a cigar and grinning. BA, wearing a cape and mask, appeared to be tossing dog treats to thin air, while Hannibal grumbled that there was no dog. Murdock's arms were wrapped around a young woman in a tight embrace, while someone who could have been her father hovered by the girl protectively.  
  
"Um, guys?" Amy asked, confused. "What's going on?"  
  
"Hey, Amy," Face replied. "We just finished up bagging some bad guys. You think you could help Donna and Gary here keep an eye on them so we can get out of here before the cops or Decker show up?"  
  
"Uh, sure..." she replied. Silently she watched as Hannibal got in the driver's seat, still griping about BA, Face got in the front passenger seat, BA tossed a dog treat into the van and followed after it, and Murdock got in after kissing the woman goodbye. "Guys...?"  
  
"What is it, Amy?" Face asked impatiently.  
  
"You guys are acting kind of strange, don't you think?"  
  
The four men looked at her, then at each other. For a moment, nobody moved, then they all got out of the van. Silently, BA got into the driver's seat, Hannibal got in the passenger side, and Murdock and Face got in the back.  
  
"That better?" Hannibal asked.  
  
Amy just stood there staring as they drove off.  
  
  
fin  
  
  
Funny? Stupid? Confusing? Tell me! R&R! 


End file.
